Breakthrough on the food-guide front

The American Diabetic Association has broken ranks with the other health organizations and is promoting a low starchy carb diet for weight loss.

Finally, a chink in the armour, a crack in the wall, a miniscule hole in the dike! All the major disease associations collectively have been saying for years that we should be eating lots and lots and lots of grains - that grains are supposedly the most important part of a healthy diet. We have been following that advice for years, and heart disease rates have climbed, diabetes rates have climbed, many kinds of cancers have climbed. Well, I am happy to announce that finally one association has put two and two together, and has broken ranks from the comforting solidarity of the other medical associations. Kudos to the American Diabetes Association for changing its food recommendations for Type 2 diabetics that need to lose weight. They are actually suggesting that lowering starchy carb intake for one year may be helpful. A rather meager start, but at least it’s something. Hopefully the American Medical Association, The Heart and Stroke Foundation, the American Heart Association, the US Food and Drug Admin, Health Canada etc. will see the light soon too.

I think it takes a lot of courage to put out recommendations that go against the flow so I can understand why they may not have wanted to push the envelope further. But low carb for one year only??? In the context of diabetes, lowering starchy carbs should not be hyped only for weight control, but rather for lowering blood sugar, which is the bottom-line source of the problem in diabetes. Losing weight is the nice side benefit. One gets the feeling the ADA simply doesn't get it. The low-starch concept should be recommended for all diabetics, Type 1 or Type 2 (and all the rest of us too!) in order to control blood sugar. Eating a diet high in starchy carbs leads to high blood sugar levels, so more insulin is needed to transport the sugar into the cells. No matter how the insulin gets into the blood stream, whether it is injected, or whether the body produces it, whether diabetic or not, high insulin levels damage arteries. High insulin levels also lead to insulin resistance, so both sugar and insulin remain in the blood. High blood sugar levels are also very damaging to arteries as the sugar tends to glycate (caramelize). Damaged arteries need to be repaired, so cholesterol is dispatched to the area to plug the pits and tears, and so cardiovascular disease begins.

So, by reducing one’s consumption of sugar and starchy carbohydrates like bread, pasta, potatoes, corn, white rice etc., one reduces one’s need for insulin, which in turn leads to happier arteries and reduced insulin resistance. This is the way to AVOID getting Type 2 diabetes in the first place, and to reduce one’s risk of getting cardiovascular disease as well.

Type 1 Diabetics used to be taught (I’m not sure what they are taught today) that they should eat some starch at every meal so that the injected insulin has some sugar to bring down. I simply don’t understand that. Why eat sugar to match the injected insulin? Why not reduce the insulin injected to match a lower sugar intake? It seems to me that keeping insulin levels low is health promoting. I am not a Type 1 Diabetic, so I have not had to live with the daily job of pin-prick glucose metering, and trying balance eating with insulin injections. Maybe if I lived that life I would change my tune. But to me it makes sense to eat lots of above-ground veggies and sea vegetables that don’t turn into sugar in the body quickly, perhaps some legumes in moderation as they have more protein than grains do, and
pasture fed meats, full-fat dairy, free-range poultry, and wild seafood. Contrary to Type 2 diabetics who are frequently overweight, losing too much weight may be a concern for Type 1 diabetics who tend not to be overweight, so they may not want to lower starch consumption. The counter to that would be to replace the starch with larger amounts of the other foods in the macronutrient ratio recommended by one's metabolic type. I would think that a diet that naturally keeps keeps blood sugar stable would require less insulin to be injected, which would not only improve health, but also the pocketbook.

Author Info

I have always been interested in what we can do to make ourselves as healthy as possible. We cannot change our genetics, but there is much that is within our control that can have an impact on whether we are healthy or whether we suffer with pain and disease.

I was the top graduating student at the University of Toronto in Physical and Health Education in 1992, where I studied anatomy, physiology, exercise physiology, nutrition and how exercise can improve health. In 1997 moved to Vancouver and started a personal-training business.

I became frustrated by my inability to help my clients through their various aches and pains, and pursued further education through the CHEK Institute in San Diego. I learned an incredible amount, and became far more effective with my clients suffering from low-back pain, but still found some clients did not respond as I felt they should and I didn't understand why.

I began to read and read. I began to appreciate how nutrition and other lifestyle factors can have a huge impact on healing or the lack of healing. It became obvious to me that there is a lot more to orthopeadic problems than simply looking at the physical. I took the CHEK Holistic Lifestyle Consultation course which solidified what I had been learning. Disease is a function of bodily systems being out of balance, and when we do what is necessary to bring the individual back into balance our health is restored.

My hope is that through this site you can travel the wellness journey with me and prevent illness, or if you are ill, you can learn some ways to become well again.

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About Vreni Gurd

First NameVreni

Last NameGurd

Degrees BPHE, HLC 2, CHEK 3, CSEP-CEP, NSCA, ACSM

Short Bio

I have always been interested in what we can do to make ourselves as healthy as possible. We cannot change our genetics, but there is much that is within our control that can have an impact on whether we are healthy or whether we suffer with pain and disease.

I was the top graduating student at the University of Toronto in Physical and Health Education in 1992, where I studied anatomy, physiology, exercise physiology, nutrition and how exercise can improve health. In 1997 moved to Vancouver and started a personal-training business.

I became frustrated by my inability to help my clients through their various aches and pains, and pursued further education through the CHEK Institute in San Diego. I learned an incredible amount, and became far more effective with my clients suffering from low-back pain, but still found some clients did not respond as I felt they should and I didn't understand why.

I began to read and read. I began to appreciate how nutrition and other lifestyle factors can have a huge impact on healing or the lack of healing. It became obvious to me that there is a lot more to orthopeadic problems than simply looking at the physical. I took the CHEK Holistic Lifestyle Consultation course which solidified what I had been learning. Disease is a function of bodily systems being out of balance, and when we do what is necessary to bring the individual back into balance our health is restored.

My hope is that through this site you can travel the wellness journey with me and prevent illness, or if you are ill, you can learn some ways to become well again.